How do I know L, you ask? I used to live with her when I first moved to the Twin Cities. She and her mom were looking for a housemate, I was looking for a dog-tolerant home for myself and my Luna, and the prairie stars aligned. At first L and I were just friendly housemates, coming and going and not having too much to do with one another, but then came the fateful day when I dearly wanted to see Chumbawumba (you're reading that right) at First Ave., and this dear, sweet (party-ready) recent college grad was willing to tag along. We had a lot more fun after that (including my first martini), though we were roommates for only about six months, and when she moved to Oxford to pursue her dream of sifting through the loose pocket change of people who have been dead for thousands of years, I visited her there on a few occasions for some of the best times I've ever had. And I don't just mean the cucumber sandwiches at the tea joint.
One of the most interesting things (for me) that came up in our conversation this weekend was the realization that she and I are photo negatives of each other in the career arena. L is a person who knew exactly what she wanted to study, exactly what she wanted to end up with, exactly what she had to accomplish to get there, exactly how to work to accomplish those things. Girl had goals! Lofty ones! And met them! Whereas I have had the goal of being employed, figured out something I could be employed at, the rest is kind of snoozy history. Interestingly, although she feels like her work has resulted in a job she truly likes for a number of reasons, her satisfaction is not necessarily tied to the achievement of all these goals. Should I feel a bit better about that? Doesn't matter- since I knew her before her her career kicked off, even I get a measure of satisfaction from the way she accomplishes her goals. This woman kicks ancient historical ass, and looks good doing it.
Right?
Of course we went for breakfast at the market. That is where we go when you come to visit! You can go too! Come and visit us!
The girls enjoyed terrorizing the tourists with their calla lily magic wands. Thanks, Auntie L!
Guess who we ran into at the comic shop?
We thought this was tea for White People. Oh, White Peony, OK.
If I have any regrets about the weekend, it may be that I was a little too relaxed with L's visit. I had a few plans, a few meals lined up, but other than that the poor dear had to spend a fair amount of time floating around in the pool of our family life, which does not always have the strongest current. And she was completely victimized by my tots, who made her read something like one hundred and fifty books to them.
As a bonus aside, L brought along sweet little water bottles as gifts for the girls. Muriel's had a stopper in place of the screw top, and Naomi's came with a carabiner for attaching it to a bag or a coat or whatever. Which she persisted in calling a "hooker" the whole weekend. Funny!
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